Sanitary and self-cleaning comb.



T. U. BAMFIELD & G. REGHTER.

SANITARY AND SELF CLEANING COMB.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 16,1914.

1,131,592. Patented Mar.9,1915.

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Warren STATES PATENT onion THOMAS C. BAMFIELD AND GEORGE RECHTER, OF ANGEL ISLAND, CALIFORNIA.

SANITARY AND SELF-CLEANING COMB.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 9, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, THOMAS C. BAM- FIELD, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and GEORGE RnoHTnR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Angel Island, in the county of Marin and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sanitary and Self- Cleaning Combs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to sanitary and self cleaning combs, and one of the principal objects of the invention is to provide means of simple construction for application to a comb for cleaning the teeth and removing the collected hairs and other foreign matter from between the teeth, thus leaving the comb in a cleanly and sanitary condition for use.

After a comb has been used for some little time, hair and other foreign matter will gather around the teeth and between the same, thus interfering with the use of the comb and at the same time being uncleanly and unsanitary and unfit for use.

The principal object of this invention is to provide means to readily clean the teeth and to remove all the collected foreign matter from between the teeth quickly and efiiciently and to render the comb clean, sanitary and in condition for immediate use. These and other objects may be attained by means of the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a comb of the ordinary form or construction provided With a cleaner made in accordance with this invention, Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the cleaner removed from the comb, Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, and Fig. i is a fragmentary view showing a modified form of stop for the cleaner bar.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates the back of a comb of ordinary construction which may be made of aluminum, celluloid, hard rubber or any suitable material and may be provided with teeth 2 of fine or coarse character or half fine and half coarse in the ordinary manner of construction of combs. As is usual in combs of the ordinary construction, the end teeth 3 are larger and wider than the teeth 2.

The cleaner bar comprises the apertured end members 4, through which the end teeth 3 extend. The slots 5 between the end teeth and the next adjacent teeth extend up to near the edge of the back 1 of the comb, as shown more clearly in Fig. 1. The end members 4 of the cleaner bar are connected by meansof the vertical portions 6 with the cleaner bar or element 7 which is formed as shown by bending the sheet metal into zigzag form having rectangular oppositely disposed members 8 connected by intermediate cleaning members 9 which extend between the teeth of the comb and serve to strip the hairs and other foreign matter and thoroughly clean the teeth 2 when the device is operated. Hinged to the cleaner bar 7 near a central point is a clasp 10 hinged at 11 and provided with a stud 12 which is adapted to engage a socket formed in one side of the back 1 of the comb, the purpose of said clasp being to hold the cleaner in its uppermost position as shown in Fig. 1 when not required for use.

Upon the ends of the end teeth 3, as shown in Fig. 1, caps or thimbles 13 are mounted and held frictionally in place, said thimbles serving to stop the members 4: when the cleaning bar 7 has reached its position substantially on a line with the ends of the teeth 2, without withdrawing the teeth from the cleaner bar.

As shown in Fig. 4, in lieu of the thimbles 13 a ring 14 is shown which serves the same purpose.

Whenever it is desired to clean the comb, the clasp 13 is drawn outward by a finger nail engaging the head 15 in the clasp 10 and swinging it upon the hinge 11 to withdraw the stud 12 from the socket in the side of the comb back, the cleaner bar 7 is moved down until the members a rest upon the upper edges of the thimbles or caps 13 when the foreign matter can be removed by wiping it off the ends of the teeth, after which the cleaner bar is returned to its normal position and the clasp 10 is operated to insert the stud 12 in the socket in the back of the comb for holding the cleaner in its uppermost position until it is again needed for cleaning the comb.

From the foregoing it will be obvious that a comb provided with a cleaner made in accordance with this invention can be manufactured at low cost, is reliable and efiicient for its purpose, is not cumbersome, can be quickly operated, and will not detract from the general appearance of the comb.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claim.

What is claimed is A comb and a cleaner therefor, said cleaner comprising a bar formed of a strip of metal bent into a series of oppositely disposed U-shaped members alternately arranged to inclose the teeth of the comb upon three sides of said teeth, and end loops on said bar for engaging the end teeth of the comb, stops to prevent the cleaner bar from being Withdrawn entirely from the teeth of the comb during this operation, and a clasp for holding the cleaner 'up' against the back 15 of the comb.

In testimony whereof We affix our signatures in presence of tWo Witnesses.

THOMAS C. BAMFIELD. GEORGE RECHTER.

Witnesses:

R. L. HUs'rnD, E. S. FYFE.

copies of thin patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. 0. 

